How long before bed should I stop caffeine?
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS
Caffeine's half-life is about five hours, so a 4 pm coffee still has half its dose circulating at 9 pm and a quarter at 2 am. Slow metabolizers, and that is genetic, feel it even longer.
The practical rule: last caffeine eight hours before bed, and note the hidden sources, tea, cola, energy drinks, chocolate, some painkillers.
The cruel loop: late caffeine fragments deep sleep, the tired morning demands more caffeine, and the cycle self-sustains while sleep quietly degrades. Breaking it takes about a week of earlier cutoffs.
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